Improvement in harvesters



Z. SW'UPE.

Harvesters.

" P'aten'ted Feb. 25

No. A136,279.

I nventor.

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AM Pnora-urHasRAM/c co. MX(ossan-E.'y macsss) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTERS.y

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 136,279., dated February 25, i873.

[o all whomt may conceof'vn: l

Be it known that I, ZURIEL Sworn, of Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Field-Mower 5 and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a field-mower, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth, and which is also intended and adapted for harvesting by connecting therewith a quadrant, as well as any of the ordinary rakes now in use.

In order to enable others skilled in the art 'to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View, and Fig. 2 a side elevation, of my machine. Figs. 3 and 4 are detached views of certain parts thereof, and Fig. 5 shows a part of the cutter-bar when the machine is used as a harvester.

A A represent the side pieces of the frame work of my mower, said side pieces being each a skeleton frame of the peculiar form and construction shown in Fig. 2. These vside ,'pieces or skeleton frames are connected at the rear by a cross-bar, B, and at the front by crossbars B1, B2, and B3. C is the driving-axle, which passes through the lower rear part of the frame, and is upon each end provided with a driving-wheel, D. The axle C and wheels D D are provided with the usual pawl-andratchet arrangements c, whereby the wheels will turn the axle when moving forward, but turn on the axle while moving backward. Upon the axle C, within the frame, is a spurwheel, E, which gears with a spur-pinion, Gr, on a shaft, H, running parallel with but above and in front of the axle O. On this shaft H is secured a bevel-wheel, J, which gears with a bevel-pinion, b, upon an inclined shaft, d, standing at about an angle of forty-ve degrees. On the upper end of the shaft d is a crank, e, moving a pitman, f, which connects with a rocking-lever, K, fastened on or nearly on the middle of the cross-bar B3 by a screw 0r bolt,

allowing the lever to rock on the same. The rocking-lever K, it will be noticed, is, by a pitman, h, connected with the cutter-bar L. This pitman lies in a contrary direction from the cutter-bar, and is pivoted both to the lever and to the cutter-bar by horizontal pins or bolts, as shown. The nger-bar is hinged on top of the shoe M, and when raised leaves the shoe-rest without being turned. The shot` M is, by a bolt or pin, hinged to a bar, l, projecting from the frame-work of the machine, to enable the point of the shoe to rise in passing over obstructions. For raising the fingerbar a suitable lever maybe attached, as isf common in such cases.

With my mode of gearing I am enabled to throw the second shaft H and second masterwheel J above the shaft 0 of the driver, and am enabled to increase the second masterwheel until a suiciency of speed is obtained.

As an illustration of my arrangement I give the following example: Supposing the driving-wheel is thirty inches in diameter, the circumference will be about ninety-four inches. The speed of the cutter-barshould be such as to enable it to cut that distance in one revolution of the driver. If the speed of my first pinion next to the driver is three and a halt revolutions and the second seven, these two multiplied make twenty-four and a half revolutions of the crank to one of the driver; and

as the knife cuts to and fro it makes two cuts to one revolution of the crank, which makes forty-nine cuts; and as the cutting length of the blade or section is two and a quarter inches it will make one hundred and ten and a quarter inches that the knife can cut in one revolution of the driver. The circumference of the driver being only about ninety-four inches, it leaves more than fifteen inches gain ah'ead of the driver.

In my machine I use a third wheel, N, be hind the shoe M, which serves as a guidewheel, to direct the course ofthe machine and take away the side draft. This objection is entirely overcome by the aid of my guldewheel. This wheel is carried by a jaw, O, with a perpendicular shaft, 7c, square at the upper end, and provided with la horizontal lever, P, at this end. This lever is intended to set the direction of the wheel according to the direc tion in which the machine is to move. On the under part ofthe lever P is a pin, z', which lits in holes on the cross-bar Bl, upon which it rests. The intermediate portion of the shaft l. is round between the jaw O and the upper square end to allow it being turned by the lever in its apertures or holes, ythrough which it passes. Above the jaw O on theshaft k is a round flat collar, mi, for the purpose of sinking the wheel and raisin g the shoe of the machine by means of a bent lever, R, at the lower end of which is an elliptic jaw or aperturern, resting upon the collar ym. By raising the lever R by its handle the wheel N will sink and raise the shoe M, and the ratchet p, suspended from the lever, will hook its teeth into the cross-bar B below the handle of this lever. On the other side of the machine, between the large bevel-wheel J and the trame-work, there is a four-pron ged sliding lever, S, which is intended for the purpose of throwin g the machine in and out of gear, separating the bevel-wheel J from its pinion b, and moving them togeth- 'er again at pleasure by means of a stationary collar, s, on the shaft H, between the wheel .I and the frame-work next to it. Two of these prongs, X X1, slide in below the shaft H, and the other two, X2 X3, on top, with the collar s between them. One of the prongs next to the frame-work should pass through an oblon g hole at its lower end to hold it secure to the frame-work, so as to enable the lever to shift in and out of gear, as the collar s passes in between the prongs. These prongs are made in an irregular shape, as shown in Fig. 4L. When the lever is pushed down the collar s is in between the prongs at y, and when drawn up it is between them at z. The ends of the prongs X1 and X3 being thicker than those of the prongs X and X2, this motion pushes the collar from the framework and throws the wheel J out of gear, and when the lever is pushed down, the thicknesses of the prongs being reversed, the collar s is pushed toward the framework and puts the wheel in gear. At the lower edge of the lever S, between the prongs and the handle, are two notches to hook into` a notch in the cross-bar B, upon which it slides, to keep the lever at the point where it is shifted to. The notch next to the handle is intended to hold the lever at its place when the machine is in gear, and the other when out of gear. The shaft His extended through the frame-work on one side, and over. and out past the drivingwheel l) asuthcient length to receive propelling gearing for a rake. The ear t, extended from the frame work out above this extended shaft, is intended for a connecting point for a rake.

This mower can also be changed to be adapted for a harvester. To accomplish this object I unbolt the shaft T from the cross-bar B3, the present front of the machine, and attach them to the cross-bar B at the other end, on which is now placed the drivers seat, by placing the bolts inverted through the apertures in it. In this case the driver-s seat will have to be re versed and suspended from an adverse crossbar or the cross-bar B1, in which the shaft d revolves.

` By this means the movement of the machine is changed to a contrary direction. The wheels D I) with their ratchets are taken ofI" and changed or transferred from one end of the axle to the other to enable the ratchets to work in a contrary or adverse direction corresponding with the movement of the machine; otherwise the ratchets and pawls would not catch in its movement.

By detachin g the shoe, cutterbar, and knife from the side on which they now are placed, and att-aching or bolting4 them on the other side by means ofanother bar suspended similar to the bar I, with the exception that it must have a curved elbow extended outward from the machine to bring the shoe beyond the driving-wheel, the change to a harvester cutting in rear is effected. For harvesting or mowing purposes, when cutting in rear the guide-wheel N will be in a lateral direction from the cutter-bar.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Bat-ent, is-' l. The frame A, bent and angular, as shown, with an upper and lower bar on each side, extending forward from and above the axle C, having wheel E, and connected together by the crossbars B B1 B2 B3, and provided with the shafts H d, with wheels J, b, and Gr, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination of the guide-wheel N, shaft k with fork O, lever .P with pin i, lever t with jaw -nand ratchet p, and the collar on, all substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day ot' September, 1872.

YVitnesses: ZURIEL SWOPE.

C. L. EVERT, A. N. MARR. 

